EPPING FOREST.
On the north-eastern side of London lies "Waltham
Forest. Its origin is lost in obscurity, but it certainly
existed before the Norman Conquest, for a Charter
of King Edward the Confessor to the church of St.
Paul, in London, relating to a part of the Forest, is
still extant. It comprised formerly a large portion
of the County of Essex, but having been gradually
diminished by enclosures, an attempt of King Charles
the First to restore its ancient boundaries, gave rise to
much dissatisfaction, and ultimately led to its perambu-
lation, by virtue of a Commission under the Great Seal,
appointed in pursuance of an Act of Parliament of
the 16th Charles the First. This perambulation has
from that time been regarded as a final and authentic
settlement of the boundaries of the Forest.
By the perambulation, Waltham Forest was